


somebody catch my breath

by heavydirtysoldier



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-25 04:28:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6180196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavydirtysoldier/pseuds/heavydirtysoldier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve should've told him before the inevitable happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	somebody catch my breath

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this originally on tumblr to fill a prompt someone sent me. Also, I'm very sorry.

Steve was bleeding out. 

That was the first thought that flitted through his mind as he stared up at the hazy blue sky. He could see smoke billowing, heavy and thick, from somewhere overhead. It was black, dark and out of place against the blue. Something was burning, but he didn’t know exactly what it was. It could’ve been another building. It could’ve been himself, for all he knew. But that wasn’t right. He should’ve been dead by now. Dead, blackened, and charred into nothing but ashes. 

He was dying, and he knew that. The great, invincible Captain America was dying, bleeding out, swimming in and out of consciousness, underneath all the rubble that was created by the combined efforts of the Avengers and their foe of the week. 

He couldn’t even feel the pain in his stomach anymore.

It was an odd turn of events. He had gotten cornered by the enhanced human the Avengers were called in to detain, brought out of the main battle area like a poor animal who had fallen for a trap. There was man in front of him -- the mutant himself -- but he couldn’t make out his face, obscured by the thick fog surrounding them. He did, however, notice the large gun in the man’s hands, a gun that was pointed straight at him, directly at his chest. 

He wasn’t fast enough. The gun was fired. But it wasn’t some ordinary gun. Whatever shot out of the barrel was more excruciatingly painful than anything Steve had ever encountered, and he had been shot more times than he could count.

The pain was blinding. It felt like hot, white fire running through his veins. He was down before he could even call for help.

 

~~

 

Steve didn’t know what he was waiting for. 

_ Was it to die?  _ His brain, his lack of self-preservation, supplied. 

_ No. _ His heart screamed in protest. 

There had to be someone looking for him. He just didn’t care who.

It could have been Tony.

Sam.

Natasha.

Thor.

Clint.

Hell. It could have been the Hulk.

But he had no way of reaching out to any of them. His comms had gone kaput long before he lost his helmet in the fray; something had messed with the connection, so all he heard was static. And now, he was bleeding out in the roaring silence. Alone. Amongst the rubble and smoke and destruction.

He would’ve rather had the white noise of the static in his ears over not being able to hear the voices of the people he cared about as he slowly felt himself drift away.

And then suddenly, he heard footsteps, boots pounding heavily against the broken concrete and soot.

Someone  _ had  _ been looking for him.

His lips curled into a sorry excuse for a smile, and when he opened his eyes (he wasn’t sure when he had closed them), he was met with the sight of an angel.

“Oh, God, Steve!”

Bucky’s face appeared in his tunneled vision. He looked terrified, frantic.  _ You don’t gotta keep worryin’ about me, Buck _ …

“Fuck- shit, I found him- No. He doesn’t- It doesn’t look too good. He’s bleeding. Oh, God. We gotta get him back on the jet.”

_ Please stop worryin’, Bucky _ .  _ You’ll get wrinkles on that pretty face o’ yours. _

“Jesus Christ, Stevie. You gotta stay awake for me! Don’t you fucking die on me!”

_ It’s gettin’ harder to breathe. I can’t, Buck. I can’t. _

“Steve, please. Please, you gotta- you gotta stay awake. I can’t lose you. I just  _ can’t _ .”

_ Don’t cry. I’m not worth your tears. _

“What happened to the end of the line, you dumbshit?”

_ I’m sorry. Please don’t be angry. _

“You’re gonna be okay. We’re gonna get you outta here.”

_ It’s too late.  _

“Please don’t leave me.”

_ I never got to tell you that I loved you. _

“I love you.”

Steve’s eyes remained unseeing, staring blankly at Bucky’s face.

“NO! Steve!”

_ I love you, too. _

His heart stopped. 


End file.
